Primary School in Portsmouth for children with emotional and behavioral problems

Waterside School in Tipnor, at the north-east of Portsmouth Harbour, is focused on ‘EBD’ students – those with emotional and behavioural difficulties beyond the mainstream’s capacity to cope. The ambition is to return them to mainstream schooling. The school population has a maximum capacity of around 16 due to the size of the building.

Gabions front the building below cedar boarding and a mainly shingle roof. These gabions, sourced from Portland Stone Quarry, have the functional benefit of inhibiting graffiti and fire-lighting against the building. The rear is timber boarded.

The secure entrance takes you straight onto the circulation axis, marked by glulam frames. The hall is intended for group discussions and lunches whilst a classroom at either end of the building and an IT room are the main teaching spaces.

An interview room provides space for one-to-one encounters. Storage walls are set between the main teaching spaces and these, combined with the Ecophon ceiling panels, help provide acoustic separation in a building that could turn noisy. Principal teaching spaces open on to a garden to the west.